Roxboro company has a big order from Army. Supplies to be used in Afghanistan.
October 7, 2009
A parachute manufacturer in the Durham area is on a hiring binge to fill 375 jobs and meet a major order for the U.S. Army.
North American Aerodynamics in Roxboro plans to increase its workforce from just 45 people today to about 420 by next year to rush out heavy-duty cargo parachutes for use in Afghanistan. The company is investing $900,000 on a new manufacturing plant.
The creation of jobs on that scale during a recession is so unusual in Person County that the company qualified for up to $600,000 in state and local incentives - despite the fact that the new jobs will pay an average of just $23,834, considerably less than the county average.
It's one of the few times that the state has agreed to make an exception to its guideline stating that financial incentives should be awarded for creating jobs that pay better than the average wage.
"It's the sheer number of jobs being created," said Dale Carroll, deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Commerce. "It's safe to say that a portion of the 375 workers will be people that are currently unemployed. We not only help them as individuals by having a good job but we also lessen the burden on our unemployment insurance system."
The company specializes in military and recreational parachutes and makes parachutes for incendiary flares for the Army. Now the company stands poised to take advantage of the military's shifting emphasis from land convoys to air supplies in Afghanistan. The company will make cargo parachutes that can support up to 5,000 pounds of equipment and ammunition.
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